Fish cutting and cleaning machine



July 25, 1939. A. L. CHRISTIANSEN 2,156,939

FISH CUTTING AND CLEANING MACHINE Filed April 1, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIN VEN TO'R. A/VQEEW A. CHIP/SWANSE/V ATTORNEY July 25, 1939.

A. L; CHRISTIANSEN1 2,166,939

msii CUTTING AND CLEANING MACHINE Filed April 1,, 1955 a Sheets-Sheet 3.A TTORNEY Patented July 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 16 Claims.

My invention relates to fish machines, and particularly to fish cuttingand cleaning machines.

The objects of my invention are:

First, to provide a combination of synchro- ;nized conveyors forconveying transversely fish to be cut into lengths, and in which one ofthe conveyors extends beyond the other for conveying the fish sectionstherein beyond the fish sections in the other conveyor, whereby theformer sections, ordinarily discarded, are saved for packing with theothers;

Second, to provide a novel pocket conveyor, which is particularly simpleand economical of construction, and such a conveyor in combination withnovelly arranged length-cutting knives;

Third, to provide a novelly arranged knife in addition to the usuallength-cutting knives which may be easily brought into use when desiredfor additionally dividing the fish lengths;

Fourth, to provide a machine of this class whereby the fish are cut tolength before the entrails are removed, thereby facilitating the latteroperation and the handling of the fish;

Fifth, to provide novel and simple meansfor turning the fish on theirbacks, and particularly such a means in combination with novellyarranged conveyors whereby the fish are directly discharged from oneconveyor into the other on their backs and in the desired direction;

Sixth, to provide novel and efiicient cutting means for splitting thebellies of fish of different sizes, and which isso arranged that thecutting means rides directly upon the fish of different sizes and cutssubstantially only the thin belly wall of the fish;

Seventh, to provide novel and simple means for spreading the oppositewalls of the fish while cleaning out the entrails from the bellies ofthe fish;

Eighth, to provide a novelly mounted brush for removing the entrails offish of different sizes, and which automatically accommodates itself tothe different size fish;

Ninth, to provide novel and simple means of separating the entrails fromthe cleaned fish; and,

Tenth, to provide a simple and economical method of cutting and cleaningfish.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear hereinafter, I havedevised a fish machine, having certain novel features of construction,as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth inthe appended claims, reference being had t ti accompanying drawings andto the characters of reference thereon, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary. plan viewof my machine in its preferred form,portions being broken away and in section to facilitate the i1-lustration; Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged sectional elevations taken at 2-2and 3-3of Fig. 1, showing the fish conveyor construction and mounting;Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevation, showing particularlythe cutters and the means for transferring and turning the fish whendeposited in the cleaning conveyor; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlargedsection taken at 5-5 of Fig. 1 showing the means for splitting andcleaningthe fish and for separating the entrails from the cleaned fish;Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the means for separatingthe entrails from the cleaned fish; and Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectionalview in plan, taken through 1-! of Fig. 5, showing the fish spreadingmeans.

I have shown fragmentarily a double machine in which one side is aduplicate of the other, but I shall refer herein to one side only.

The machine, in its preferred embodiment, is provided with threeconveyors I, 2, and 3. The receiving ends of all the conveyors aremounted on a shaft 4, while the opposite or discharge ends are atdifferent distances from the receiving ends, the conveyor 3 extendingbeyond the conveyor 2 and the latter beyond the conveyor i. The conveyorI consists of one, while each of the conveyors 2 and 3 consists of apair of continuous link belts 2a, 2b and 3a, 32). These link belts, asshown, consist of alternate plain links 5, and links ii having outwardlyextendin brackets, as shown best in Fig. 2. On the upper sides of thesebelts the adjacent brackets provide pockets indicated as A, B, and C inthe conveyors |,-2, and 3. These conveyors are all synchronized with thepockets of each conveyor aligned, as shown, for receiving and conveyinga fish cross-wise, fiat-wise, with the back forward and with the headextending in front of 2a and 2b, and extend below the pockets. Thesecutters are adiustably mounted on the shaft for varying the length ofthe sections cut. These cutters cut ofi the heads, which drop oil theside of the conveyor I down the chute I4,.and also the tail endsections, which are carried by the conveyor 3, as will be describedhereafter.

On the frame I 5 is mounted a leaf spring I8, or in substance aretaining member resiliently mounted on the frame. This member I8extends angularly downwardly between the conveyor belts 2a and 2b andholds the fish fixed in the pockets while the head and tail ends areremoved.

On the frame II is mounted another transverse shaft I! on which ispivoted a cutter frame I8 at the free end of which isrotatably mounted acutter or-knife I9. This knife is raised when not in use, but lowered tothe position shown when desired for dividing the fish section cut byknives II and I2. When lowered this knife I9 is positioned between theconveyor belts 2a and 2b and is limited by a suitable stop 20.

The aforementioned conveyors, shafts, and

knives are shown operated by a motor IIII which shown onlydiagrammatically. The conveyor I is synchronized with the conveyor 2 butthe drive mechanism for the former is not shown.

The shaft 8|, for driving the sprockets for the conveyor 3, is rotatedby a chain H6 from the shaft I I I, the connection not being shown.

Immediately below the conveyor 2, is an endless belt conveyor 26 whichextends outwardly at right angles therefrom, and carries the middle orbelly sections of the fish to the side for purposes hereinafterdescribed. This conveyor consists of a plurality of V'-shaped pocketmembers 26a having at their lower portions laterally extending ears 2812which are secured to the links of a link belt 21 mounted on sprockets 28and 29. At the upper portions of the pocket members (i. e. when thepocket members 26a are at the upper side of the conveyor) are otherlaterally extending lugs 260 which ride upon and support the conveyor onsolid horizontal guides 30. The V- shaped pocket members 26a at theupper side of the conveyor provide a longitudinal channel, parallel tothe pockets in the conveyor 2, for receiving the belly sections from thelatter.

The conveyor 26 is enclosed in a long housing 38 extending cross-wise ofthe machine. I Over the discharge end of the conveyor 2 is positioned asemicircular guide 3| which is mounted on the housing 36. One end of theguide extends substantially into the pocket mem--' bers of the conveyor26, as shown in Fig. 4. On the frame, between the conveyor belts 2a and2b, is secured one end of a leaf spring 32 which is spaced inwardly fromand substantially conforms to the contour of but slightly approaches thesemi-circular guide II. This spring causes the cut belly sections of thefish to be gradually forced from the pockets in the conveyor 2 flatwiseagainst the guide II with the backs foremost, and to be deposited insubstantially such position I into the channel of the conveyor 2. Ikespring flmayconsistofaplm'ality'ofsmallsprings spreader 5i and anentrail remover BI.

a,1cc,9so

placed side by side, as shown. The outer springs 32a are more flexibleand preferably positioned closer tothe guide 3i for holding the smallerfish against the guide. The outer springs 32:; may be positioned at theouter sides of the conveyor belts 2a and 2b. As the fish sections leavethe guide 3 I, there is a tendency of the fish rolling over. To preventsuch tendency, I have provided a second leaf spring 33 which is securedat one end on the frame and has an upwardly directed goose-neck at theopposite end. The free end is positioned immediately beyond the end ofthe space between the guide 3i and the spring 32, as shown in Fig. 4.

The pocket members 25a are provided with prongs or spurs 2611 which areadapted to pierce and hold the fish when they are forced-into thechannel of the conveyor, as will be described hereafter.

Above the conveyor 28 are positioned in sequence a belly-splittingcutter 4|, a fish-side-wall These are all supported by and enclosed inthe housing ll.

The belly-splitting cutter consists of a circular knife in verticalalignment with the channel and provided at the opposite sides withshoulder discs 42 of slightly smaller diameter, 1. e. spaced backwardlyslightly from the cutting edge of the knife, as shownv best in Figs. 1and 5. The knife is rotatably mounted in a frame 43 which is pivoted onthe shaft 44. The shaft is connected,

.by level gears 45, to a drive shaft 46. This drive shaft 48 is driventhrough a chain I2I by the shaft I02, the latter connection not beingshown. The knife is driven'by a chain 41 from the shaft 44. I

The knife drops down freely, limited only by a stop in the form of achain 48, into the channel of the conveyor, and splits the bellies ofthe fish located by the pocket members 260. The shoulder discs 42 areadapted to ride upon the fish in the channel of theconveyor and thuslimit the penetration of the knife into the fish. The spreader consistsof a pointed nose member Sia, with the point directed toward theapproaching split fish sections, and resilient wire arms Sib whichdiverge backwardly therefrom toward the sides of the channel, as shownin Fig. 7. As the split fish are carried along by the conveyor, thepointed nose piece enters the fish, and as the fish advances the sidesare spread by the diverging arms lib.

This spreader has an upwardly extending shank 52 which slides in avertical socket 53a of a support 53." The spreader is resiliently forceddownwardly by a spring 54 and limited in its downward movement by a pin55. The spreader thus adjusts itself to varying sizes of at least onespecies of fish. For different species, the spreader may be raised orlowered manually by adjusting the pin SI.

The entrail remover 6i consists of a narrow circular brush positioned invertical alignment with the channel and rotatably mounted at the lowerfree end of a frame 62 which is pivoted at its opposite end on a shaft63. This shaft is also connected by bevel gears 64 to the drive shaft46. The brush is rotated by a chain 85 from the shaft 63. The brush alsodrops down freely into the channel and is limited by a chain 66.

The brush drops freely between a pair of spreader arms 5Ib, so that asthe side walls of the fish arev spread as the fish is advanced by theconveyor 2!, the brush, suiiiciently sensitive to 7 be raised by thefish, enters the fish and brushes out the entrails towards the dischargeend of the conveyor.

It will be noted that the supporting frames for the brushes are inclinedfrom their pivotal supports in the direction of the moving conveyor Itand that the chain drives for the brushes are so arranged that as thebrushes are rotated they tend to rise, making the mounting particularlysensitive, so that the brushes are easily raised a by the fish in theconveyor 26.

There may be one or more of such units, of

I spreader and brush, completely to remove the entrails, as shown.

At the discharge end of the conveyor 26 is a downwardly and backwardlycurved guard plate or chute II in front of which is spaced a grid 12.The entrails are thrown by the last brush through the grid into thechute while the cleaned fish are discharged by the conveyor on to thegrid, from which they roll or slide down into a chute 13.

The conveyor 3 extends beyond and in front 'of the frame i5 and housing36, and around a drive shaft 8| mounted at the outer end of an extensionframe 82. Between and near thedischarge ends of conveyor belts 3a and 3bof this conveyor is a circular knife 83 which severs the tail from themeat portion, the former dropping into a chute 84 and the latter into achute 85 which may be joined with the chute 13, thus assembling alledible portions of the fish.

It will be here noted that streams of water are directed on the fish atvarious parts of the machine to facilitate the several operations. Butsuch streams of water are here shown only in connection with theconveyor 26 andthe splitting, spreading, cleaning and separating means,and supplied by a conduit designated 9|.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, I do notwish to be limited to the same, but desire to include in the scope of myinvention the construction, combination and arrangement substantially asset forth in the appended claims. I

I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, a con.- veyor for carrying fishtransversely, a pair of spaced knives at the outer sides thereof forcutting off the-head and tail ends from the entrail sections of thefish, a knife adapted to ride lengthwise upon the entrail sections forsplitting lengthwise the belly walls only of the entrail sections, thedepth of the knife out being fixed and limited by the surface of thefish upon which the knife rides, means for spreading the side walls ofsaid sections, and means for forcing the entrails therefrom.

2. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor for receiving fish ontheir sides and for carrying the same transversely, a pair of spacedknives at the outer sides thereof for cutting off the head and tail endsfrom the middle sections of the fish, means for turning saidmiddlesections on their backs, a knife adapted to ride lengthwise uponthe entrail sections for splitting lengthwise the belly walls only ofsaid sections, the depth of the knife out being fixed and limited by thesurface of the fish upon which the knife rides, means for spreading theside walls of said sections, and means for forcing the entrailstherefrom. l

3. In a machine of the classdescribed, a conveyor for carrying fishtransversely, a pair of spaced knives at the outer sides thereof forcutting off the head and tail ends from the middle tions, and means forforcing the entrails therefrom.

4. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor having transversepockets and a longitudinal opening intermediate the ends of the pockets,a pair of cutters positioned at the opposite sides of the conveyor andat the ends'of the pockets, and a spring arm exten ng angularly into theopening, in the direction of movement and between the cutters.

5- In a machine of the class described, a. co veyor having transversepockets, 9. second conveyor mounted below one end of and at right anglesto the first conveyor, and having a longitudinal channel positionedparallel to said pockets and adapted to receive fish sections directlytherefrom, a guide extending around one end of the first conveyor andinto the second conveyor, and a spring member positioned adjacent saidend of the first conveyor and said guide, for gradually forcing the fishsections from the pockets against the guide, as the first conveyor isadvanced, and depositing the same in said channel.

6. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor having transversepockets, 9. second conveyor mounted below one end of and at right anglesto the first conveyor, and having a longitudinal channel positionedparallel tosaid pockets and adapted to receive fish sections directlytherefrom, a guide extending around one end of the fi'rst conveyor andinto the'second conveyor, a spring member positioned adjacent said endof the first conveyor and said guide, for gradually forcing the fishsections from the pockets against the guide, as the first conveyor isadvanced, and depositing the same in said channel and a second springmember having its free end positioned adjacent the exit of the spacebetween the guide and the first spring member to facilitate placing ofthe fish sections in the channel with their backs downward.

7. In a machine of the class described, a conends and extending towardsthe sides of thechannel.

8. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor, a second conveyorsynchronized with the first and extending beyond the end thereof andhaving pockets aligned with the first conveyor, said conveyors beingadapted to carry fish extending through the pockets of both conveyors,

separate cutters between the conveyors and also at the outer sides ofeach conveyor, 9. third conveyor mounted below one end of and at rightangles to the first conveyor, and means for transferring fish sectionsfrom the first to the third conveyors.

9. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor for conveying fish',means for removing the 76 entrails of the fish in the conveyor anddischarging the same toward the discharge end of the conveyor, a grid atthe discharge end of the conveyor for receiving and separating the fishand entrails, means below the grid for receiving the entrails, and meansfor receiving the fish from the top of the grid.

10. In a machine 01' the class described, a conveyor having transversepockets, a second conveyor mounted below one end of and at right anglesto the first conveyor, and having a longitudinal channel positionedparallel to said pockets, and means for turning and depositing the fishsections'from the first conveyor longitudinally into said longitudinalchannel with their bellies uppermost.

11. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor having pockets, asecond conveyor having a receiving channel, a guide extending around oneend of the first conveyor and into the second conveyor, and a springmember positioned adjacent said end of the first conveyor and saidguide, for gradually forcing the fish sections from the pockets againstthe guide, as the first conveyor is advanced, and depositing the same insaid channel.

12. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor having pockets, asecond conveyor having a receiving channel, a guide extending around oneend of the first conveyor and into the second conveyor, a spring memberpositioned adjacent said end of the first conveyor and said guide, forgradually forcing the fish sections from the pockets against the guide,as the first conveyor is ad--' vanced, and depositing the same in saidchannel, and a second spring member having its free end positionedadjacent the exit of the space between the guide and the first springmember to facilitate placing of the fish sections in the channel withtheir backs downward.

13. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor, a second conveyorsynchronized with the first and extending beyond the end thereof andhaving pockets aligned with the first conveyor, I

said conveyors being adapted to carry fish extending through the pocketsof both conveyors, separate cutters between the conveyors and also atthe outer sides of each conveyor, a third conveyor mounted below one endof and at right angles to the first conveyor, means for transferringfish sections from the first to the third conveyors, and means forassembling edible portions from the second and third conveyors.

14. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor, a second conveyorsynchronized with the first and extending beyond'the end thereof andhaving pockets aligned with the first conveyor, said conveyors beingadapted to carry fish extending through the pockets of both conveyors,cutters at the opposite sides of the first conveyor, and another cutterin association with the second conveyor. V 15. In a machine of the classdescribed, a conveyor, a second conveyor synchronized with the first andextending beyond the end thereof and having pockets aligned with thefirst conveyor, said conveyors being adapted to carry fish extendingthrough the pockets both conveyors, cutters at the opposite sides of thefirst conveyor, means at the side of the first conveyor opposite thesecond conveyor for receiving the heads of the fish out, another cutterin association with the second conveyor, and means in association withthe latter cutter and the second conveyor for receiving the tails of thefish cut.

16. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor, a second conveyorsynchronized with the first and extending beyond the end thereof andhaving pockets aligned with the first conveyor, said conveyors beingadapted to carry fish extending through the pockets of both conveyors,separate cutters between the conveyors and also at the outer sides ofeach conveyor, a third conveyor mounted below one end of the firstconveyor, .and means for transferring fish sections from the first tothe third conveyors.

ANDREW L. CHRIS'ITANSEN.

